It all started in the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago. Grayson Allen burst onto the scene for the Duke Blue Devils on their way to another national championship. In the process, people realized he was Duke’s next great villain. He has done nothing to shed that title over the last season and a half.
His latest incident further shows just how much of a spoiled brat the guard is. During Duke’s 72-61 win over Elon on Wednesday, he deliberately stuck out his foot and tripped a player for the third time in his career. He was given a technical foul, but Coach Mike Krzyzewski wouldn’t commit to punishing him further for the trip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ecF655nwdI
He said this to reporters after the game.
“I handle things the way I handle them…I don’t need to satisfy what other people think I should do.”
Enough is enough, Grayson. Grow up and stop acting like a child. You play at a premier college basketball program and are probably talented enough to have an NBA career. There is no need to be doing stupid stuff like this consistently.
Allen can be seen clearly shouting and trash talking even after tripping the opposing player. A spur-of-the-moment trip is somewhat understandable, but the jawing afterward? That speaks more to his character. He is a spoiled brat that is always used to getting his way. When he gets his hand caught in the cookie jar, he looks around like somebody else is going to take the fall for it.
Simply, Allen’s face when he gets caught doing anything just screams, “Oh yeah? Well, my dad’s a lawyer.” His antics continue to wear on the public, and you have to think his antics are wearing on his teammates as well. Nobody likes to be associated with someone like that.
Allen is one of the most talented players in the country, but he’s only holding himself back. With his current maturity level, it is unlikely he will be successful at the next level. However, if he’s looking for a model of an NBA player with no maturity and immense talent, he can look no further than DeMarcus Cousins, who scored 55 points and spat his mouthguard at the Trailblazers’ bench in the same game.
Very few players are actually able to overcome immaturity like Cousins in the NBA. There is a good chance it will catch up with him as well at some point. Basketball is an emotional game, but Allen needs to learn to control his better. While he doesn’t care what I or anyone else thinks of him, nobody is going to be a fan of him if he continues to pull stunts like this.
One thing is for sure: he’s fun to root against. Whenever there’s a player that seems that spoiled or that incredulous when anything doesn’t go their way, it’s fun to see them fail. It’s that simple. Rooting against Duke is fun and therefore, rooting against their villain is fun.
In that way, Allen is good for college basketball. He gives the masses someone to root against, someone to make people pull for the opposing team. It makes things more interesting. But he is also starting to wear on the public. How many trips does he need before he learns he’s not in elementary school anymore?
We’re up to three and there’s a good chance we will see more. While Allen apologized for his actions after the game, that’s simply not enough. These things need to stop happening altogether. A junior in college shouldn’t have to be told not to trip anyone multiple times.
Come March, the Blue Devils will be right there and Allen will play a major part in their postseason fortunes. After yet another instance of him acting like a 10-year-old, we can only hope their season ends without confetti falling from the ceiling.
[Featured Image by Chuck Burton/AP Images]